Washing 8x10 negs

[Michael Kadillak]

There is no risk of damage with my set up in side my 11x14 print washer, the film is in hangers and they don't rack and touch the edges. Each chamber is rather wide and the water flows in the same zig zag path as the print washer is designed, there are just half the chambers with this arrangement.
But the lack of the "cross jet" type agitation during wash (or the total drain agitation in my gravity works) is the concern.

I guess I should find room for one of Alistair's.

IC, how many times do you fill and drain the jobo tank?
Have you ever HT2 tested?

My 5x7 are washed in the gravity works with the basket removed and the hangers fit on the long side.

While hangers do in fact keep the film from dangerous contact my feeling is that the hangers by the very nature of how they are constructed are obstructions to the washing process. As a result I feel that you need more water velocity and water to overcome these issues over the condition where the hanger were not there.

We all have a tendency to get cheap and cut corners when it comes to washing sheet film. I know guys that use print siphon washers to wash sheet film and tell me that this is not a problem. Others use their print washers for the task. There is a better way.

Alistairs washers are marvelously engineered and the 8x10 six sheet dedicated sheet film washer is small, light (as they are all) and does the job perfectly. You cannot believe how little water pressure it takes to drive streams of water across the film surface and wash the film.They are great and Alistair is an artisan with acrylic and one of us.

Cheers!

[ic-racer]

[QUOTE=Allen in Montreal;574525]

IC, how many times do you fill and drain the jobo tank?
Have you ever HT2 tested?
[QUOTE]


If you consider the permawash to be voodoo and just another wash, then it is 5 changes total after the fixer. The 'main' wash cycle at the end is just 3 changes. One min->dump, two min->dump, then 3 min and final dump. I put more water than the 'process' volume. Usually around 500cc for the 3010 drum and 500cc for two 2800 long drum segments.

I'll admit it has been almost 10 years since testing (when I first got my Jobo in 2001). But I have been using permawash and basically the same wash cycle for about 25 years (maybe more).

[Brian Ellis]

Could not agree with you more Jan. I do the same thing with Alistairs dedicated sheet film washers as I have acquired these for 4x5, 5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 and 8x20. They are fabulous.

The problem with using prints washers is that because the sheet film is not kept rigidly in place there is still a risk that movement of the film in its fragile wet condition could result in scratches to the emulsion. Been there and done that - but not any longer. With Alistairs washers the film is held in place properly spaced for optimal washing with a minimum of water used.

I've washed hundreds of sheets of 8x10 film in the Zone VI print washer. Never had a scratch. Maybe some other print washers cause the film to move around more than the Zone VI does.

[shuber1]

Hi Allen, I have been using Alistair Inglis' print washers and his 8 by 10 inch film washer- love them! His negative washer is very small and does not take up much room- the print washer is very large.All the best, Susan www.susanhuber.com

[Gary L. Quay]

The first and last time I tried to wash 8x10 negatives in my Nova Print Washer, I damaged them trying to remove them.

--Gary

[Darryl Baird]

I drop this into a utility/laundry sink and it works fine for up to 8-10 sheets.

Can't complain about the cost (or smell).

[Dirk Rösler]

I wash in the Jobo drum after processing with three changes of about 500ml of water, 4/5/6 minutes. Inspired by the Ilford method for inversion tanks.

[Robert Hughes]

I drop this into a utility/laundry sink and it works fine for up to 8-10 sheets.

Great photo. Two of my photo trays started life as kitty litter trays!

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I wash my 8x10s in an 11x14 Versalab. It works just fine, although the washer is a bit too big for 5x7s, and I usually ended up soaking myself while fishing for that run away negative.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I use 8x10 film hangers that I purchased from a couple of LF members here. Once the film is fixed, I rinse them quickly in a tray, slip them into the hangers, soak in HCA in plexi boxes that I slapped together, then wash. I can wash ten at a time.
Luckily film is on a plastic base, so washing isn't as picky as fibre prints. Before I had the hangers, I used the rinse, soak, dump method with a bath in HCA after the first rinse in trays. Tedious, but very effective.